Process for recording sound records



H. L.-WADSWORTH.

PROCESS FOR RECORDING SOUND RECORDS.

APPLICATION HLED MAR.13, 1915.

lnveniav: HenryL. Vi izdsworih, I

- To all cvhom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PAT ENT-rOE FICE. T

HENRY L. wAnswoa'm-r, or LEXINGTON, mnssacnusnrrs, AssIenon ro METAL RECORDING DISC COMPANY, INC., OF NEW NEW YORK. V

- Be it known that I, HENRY L. QWADS- WORTH, a citizen of the United States, and

records or tablets,

resident of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts; have invented an Improvement in Processes for Recording Sound Records, of which the following description is a specification, I

This invention relates to talking machine and its object'is to provide a novel and improved tablet and process of making" the same. The invention has particular reference to a record having the: o laterally cut groove,- so called, but is not confined to that type. p In the illustrative drawing of a sound reproducing tablet made according to my plan, and Fig. 2

novel process, Fig. 1 is a a cross-section on the line 2-2 Fig 1.

Heretofore, two methods have been generally used in making record tablets, particul arlyin forming a record having a laterally undulating record groove.

. sistantmaterial, with some so-called non- The first and earlier method was to cover the surface of a blank disk, usually of metal or otherireresisting material, suchv as lamp-black, that cuts of the stylus inthe-non-resijsting mamanent or so called for reproducing hard, so-c'alled produced in oflered no substantial resistance to the action of a recording stylus; then form a shallow original or initial record groove in" the non-res sting ma rial by a recording stylus in the. usual m nner, and finally by the use of an etchingfluid, carry this shallow record groove downwardly and into the surface of the disk itself makino a peratrix recor i From this disk ,a reverse matrix was obtained which, bysuitable processes, could be used ermanent duplicate tablets of the original, in any desired quantities.

apt to undercut or eat beneath the wall of the groove and thus cause the lateral original terial' to inaccurately recorded and rethe tablet of resisting material.

used, consists l in forming the in tial or original record groove by the -r'e;ord1ng or havsfiylus in a blank disk entirely of i g a substantial top coating of a so-called semi-resisting. or wai -like but non-permanent record receiving substance which ance. of permanent YORK,-'N. Y., A CORPORATION OF Specification of Letters Patent. t t ,3 7, 1922 Application filed March 13, 1918'. Serial ire/222,226.

offers some resistance. to the travel of the recording stylus,ibut which will faithfully record-thesound wave vibrations if a proper recording point is used, From thisa matrix is made by the electro-plating process, which,

after being suitably backed and strength ened, can be used as a die for reproducing indefinitely duplicate tablets in any resist purpose.

Both of the before mentioned methods of recording produce originally or initiall only temporary or-noitper anent recor s g'yem which permanent master records and uplicates thereof are produced by the processes described. By the first ,process the initial record groove is not fOIIIiGd'iD the body portion proper of the disk at all, and

except the groove is etched into the disk cannot be reproduced.

The initial. record formed by 0nd h process cannot be used for reproducing t e sound waves by a stylus without deundulations of such groove, thereby smoothin'gout the rough places in the walls thereof, in the expectation that the-irregularities corresponding to sound waves be not dis-- .turbed o'r modified by such tracing instru ment.

This'last mentioned process was disclosed relatively'early in the development of the phonographic art, andII am also aware thatmaterial used for this 7 5 the secstroying the record unless the reproducing device to thus lessen the wear upon the more recent attempts have been made to carry forward. this method for improving upon and perfecting the so-called'etch'ed record groove, allofwhi'ch prescribe successive steps that are eliminated by my direct method of forming the completed The second method now very generally-J final groove in theinitial sound recording operation.

When I refer herein to the original or initial groove, or initially made-in 'metal by my process, I me an' to specify a .groove completely formed in the initial operation of recording or to'the, groove as originally I and generally used has noreproducin'g stylus inmetal, in contradistinction to the forma tion of such sound'record "grooves by successive steps. It is, of'course, wellknown that today the type of talking machine most successfully guiding or feeding means, the record groove alone bing-relied upon for this purpose,

Obviously,for this reason, as' well as others,

it necessitates the use of a so ca'lled resistant or permanent tablet material that will withstand the. action of the needle indefi nitely.

The productionof record tablets by either of the foregoing described methods is expensive and slow, and for those reasons, and,

further, to permitthe production and immediate reproduction of original records for use in private or public laces of amusement, I have conceived the i ea of producing di rectly and initially an original permanent reproducible record in atablet of resistant material by scratching the record groove therein, the surface having been first polished and original, Iintend to include grooves.

and preparedto secure homo eneity and compactness'in the material. uch record may be immediately reproduced many times I .without any auxiliary stylus-feeding or supporting device, the groove acting to guide "the stylus. Within the terms 'fi-initially created in the surface of the record blank I by the action of a stylus or other groove creating member however it may be oscillated or vibrated, as distinguished froma record groqve not created by a stylus or vothe'r groove creating member, but by secondary steps such as the etching or molding steps. 7

I have discovered that a substantially permanent record groove may be formed in the h ghly polished surface of suitablefine grain metal, for example, copper, sheet aluminum,

1 pewter etc., with, an ordinary smooth surfaced stylus. Forbest results the'surfa'ceof the blank is first properly prepared by filling the voids therein as by the application there to of an element of wax-like nature which appears to fill the pores or voids between the'molecules' of material, and thus converts the polished surface into a suitable record- ,recei'ving' surface. The metals I find best adapted are those which take a smooth and high-polish, and which are hard enough so that the stylus, on engaging the tablet, does not readil pass through the surface prepared by t e polishing process, into unhomo- -geneous material beneath, and yet which are not so hard as'to prevent an ordinary stylus' point from readily scratching or indenting the burnished surface. Obviously an alloy which possesses the proper characteristics'can be usedequally as well as an unalloyed metal, I findfurthermore, that aluminum possesses all ofthe characteris- 'which exist even inthe highly polished metallic surface, and which by means of a microscope may be readily seen. By the combination of polishing and filling an ideal record surface is created.

Within the term polished I include any surface which has a smooth finish however produced, and this finish may obviously be imparted by the mechanical process of polishing or it may result from the method of manufacture, as for example, from the treat- The effect in either ment in a rolling mill. case of such treatment is apparently to break down the crystalline! structure of the sur face of the tablet, thus producing the necessary homogeneity in the materia When the record groove is scratched in such a surface, the recording needle in passing through the material is relieved of the necessity of breaking dow'n'the- "crystalline structure of the material. v

My novel tablet Fig. 1 may be of any conveni'ent size diametrically and of sufiicient thickness to enable the groove to be made therein by the stylus in the making of which the surface of the material is actually scratched or indentedas distinguished from bent or deformed. In preparing it I prefer, first, to melt the wax-like .material and flow it on; to thetablet in the form" of a very thin film. I then rub the wax film thoroughly into the surface of the blank either manually or by any suitable device, .filling all the. voids.- I remove all excess 'material,.if any, by rubbing, so that unless critically-examined, the presence ofthe paraflin or wax will not be determined, as the minute quantity of it used is practically'i'nvisible. 7 It is obvious that when I use the expression surface ,of the disc I refer to that particular surface on which the record groove is being formed at the time. Thus it would be practicable as one working method to depress the surface in certain places thereon along a predetermined line or lines, on which .'I contemplate forming the soumd .record groove. Such depression might be for va- IlOllS purposes .as, for example, to asslst in keeping the recording or reproducing stylus to a given line-relative to formation of the sound record, but in any such'case the origmal record groove would be made on the polished surface ofthe disc wherever required.

It is also obvious that in so far as the lubricant herein referred to is used to reduce the friction between the action of the recording stylus and the surface of the disc that suc lubricant might be applied in various. ways; as for example byhaving the material itself impregnated therewith previous to the placing of the record groove in the materlal, or that the stylus or recording member might be the instrumentality by which the lubricant is applied.

Apparently on account of the vefy fine grainof aluminum, and other characteristics, it is peculiarly adaptedto receive and hold in closerelation the filler referred to.

The thin fi'hn of wax I apply to the metal surface fills these-minute apertures or voids, and acts thus to still further smooth orbur nish the surface and when subjected to the action of a recording stylus facilitates}. the formation therein of an accurate groove with is placed upon the smooth, clearly defined walls, both side and.

bottom. v

In theuseofa wax filled-and polished aluminum surface for recording, no :burden of removin or actual cutting. vout of the materia, nor yet of ironing .it," asdistinguished; from the usual incidentah pressing of the side- Walls of the groove, recording stylus.

The needle simply scratches or marksthe polished,-lubricated surface, leaving smooth walled grooves for the guidance of the'reprop ducing needle. The peculiar quality of the d Witt metal to receive and recordthevibrations of the'styluswith unusual accuracy and sharpness and t efirm characte'r of the wall cre-, ated also renders-it unnecessa to form so a groove as hashitherto een the case other material; a substantially shallow marking acting togive a clear and otherwise satisfactorv reproduction. The shallow epth to which the effect of the polishing is manifested. I That I am able to make a successful phonographic groove in materials so much harder than those heretofore success fully used in the art, I'ascr'ibe to the fact that the polishing andpreparationiof'the'surfapef of the tablet creates a homogeneous compression in the material in which the record-isto be scratched, and that the condition thus,- produced prevents the side walls of the groove from being lacerated or torn away on the passage of the stylus point therethrough. The stylus may engage the-surface at any angle with either a forward or backward rake, or be'run in,a position substantially perpendicular to the tablet, and the smooth wall ofthe groove will .be retained. The action of the scratching in each ofthe positions seems to be substantially the same, but to obviate the successive wear of the stylus 4 point and toaccommodatethe needle point more readily to any imperfection inthe polished surface, I prefer to point the needle in the direction of rotation.

of,a semi-resis'tantand usually friable character which have heretofore been employed,

and in which-a deep out was necessary in order to give a suitable firm-walled sound groove, are so unhomogeneous in character thatthe groove requires in its making a stylus' which vwill either cleanly remove the material 'by cutting it out orfl'else a stylus which will compress the side walls, with per'-' haps some lateral or upward displacement of 1 the material, andalso iron out the unhomogeneous condition. With my process neither oftheforegoing actions is necessary. The

charactcr'of the material used makes it possible, for an ordinary stylus, to scratchor indent a smooth walled roove, although were the same stylus used in friable material or in the semi-resistant materials in general heretofore used, the action would be a gouging of the material which would pro.-

duce more or less'un'satisfactory results owing to thecellular and unhomogeneous construction .of'the material.

While I have not yet been able to discover to my entire satisfaction-exactlyhow I the wax-like elementafiects the tablet,*ap-

parently it is as here'inbefore indicated.

The wax also seems to act, in addition to' perfecting the surface of the metal tablet for recording and lubricatin would otherwise have a tendency to jump out. Although the wax filler. is'almost too negligible'a quantity to be seen, experiments have proven 'to'my satisfaction that it does act to help guide the reproducing needle.

I have obtained 'tl e best results when alight rather than a heavy wax is used, and have found "that oil or other lubricantor .filler may be used with similar, but not so satisfactorly results.

my use of. the

wherever they may. occur, I. use them synony- 13y these termsl intend to includenany element which from its consistency may be-a '5 term wax and oil. i '120 mously so far as the general purposes of their employment in this invention'are concerned the path of the stylus, to absorb the meta lic quality of the reproduced tone, and enhance its purity and Volume. It also appears to act to a' suflicient degree as a guide for the repro-v ducingstylus, which, in a shallow groove method is sufliciently permanent to permit it to be reproduced instantly and many times,

and to permit the groove to act as a feeding means for the reproducing stylus.

Such a tablet is inexpensive to make, requiring no master record or matrix, 13 nonbreakable, may be quickly produced, and isespecially adapted for use also as a ready means of communication, as one may record a message thereon and safely mail it to another, to be readily reproduced. No substantial expense is entailed in making the record itself, as the tablet prepared for use inay be readily manufactured and sold commercially at a reasonable price, and an ordinary reproducing stylus will make a very satisfactory record.

Obviously, if when reproducing, a' needle somewhat less hard than the tablet is used,

sures here made.

v in the metal.

the life of the record is prolonged- Certain semi-resisting materials have heretofore been used for tablets which, after hardening, either naturally, during a certain period oftime, or by the application ofchemicals thereto, or by other artificial methods, have been sufliciently hard or re sistant to withstand reproduction a few times on the type of machine having an unfed stylus. But these tablets are not adapted for instantaneous reproduction, and in many cases the processes of treatment and manufacture are very complicated. I

While I have described one embodiment of my invention and one method of making the same, obviously my invention is not 1imited in its details to the particular disclo- Olaims; 1. An original record-tablet comprising a metallic base with a wax-like film thereon,

and a reproduciblerecord groove scratched 2. A tablet comprisih a metallic base having its, voids wax filled and adapted to receive an original sound record thereon.

3/An original record tablet comprising a .metallic base, a wax-like film thereon, and

a stylus feeding sound reproducing groove.

, 4. A tablet comprising a void filled aluminum base,and adapted to receivelan original sound record thereon.

5. A record tablet having abase of resistant material with "a void filled surface, and a record groove scratched". initially therein. y

6. The process of 'makinga sound record I in a tablet of resistant material and capable of instantaneous reproduction, comprising filling the pores, or voids ,of the material with awax-likesubstance to perfect'the surface, and then forming a record groove therein. r

7. The process of making an original sound record 1n resistant material comprising first, bu'rnishing or polishing the sur-' material and subsequently markface of the ing or scratching the record therein without removing an appreciable amount of material.

8. A tablet of aluminum having a sound record groove marked or scratched therein,

the surface of the tablet having its crystal- 3. \V 3X groove ing a burnished surface with a sound groove marked or engraved initially thereon capable of being reproduced without further treatment. v

15. The process of forming an original record groove in a tablet of resistant material which consists in. filling the surface.

voids with a wax-like material, and marking or scratching the phonograph record groove initially thereon.

16. The process of forming an original record groove in a tablet of metal which consists in filling the surface voids with a wax-like material, and marking or scratching the phonograph record nally thereon. I

17. The process of forming an original record groove in a tablet of aluminum which groove OpI'lglconsists in filling thesurface voids with a wax-like material, and directly marking or scratching an original and reproducible phonograph record groove thereon.

18.The processof forming an original record groove in atablet of metal which consists in'lubricating the surface on which the recording stylus point isto run with an oily or wax-likesubstance and marking or scratching a reproducible record groove directly thereon.

19. A record'tablet of resistant material 3 having a polished homo eneous surface with an original reproducible record [groove therein. Y F

20. A' record tablet of resistant material having a polished homogeneous surface with itS'VOIdS' wax filled and having an original reproducible record groove.

The process of forming a phonographic record which consists iii-polishing the surface of a tablet of resistant material, and scratching a reproducible record groove therein.

22. The process "of forming a phonographic record which consists .in polishing the surface of a ,tablet of metal, filling the voids therein with a wax-like material and structure of the tablet being broken down scratching a" reproducible, sound groove 4 therein.

- 23. The process of forming a .phono-- graphic record which consists in treating the surface of a tablet'of metal with a lubricat-- ing and void filling material, and scratchingv a laterally oscillating recordgroove therein. 24. A tablet of metal having a lubricated surface with an ori inal reproducible record groove formed initially therein. 7

25. A record blank of polished resistant material having-its surface voids lubricant filled.

26. A record tablet blank of polished aluminum, having its surface voids lubricant filled.

27. An original record tablet comprising a metallic base with a recording surface. thecrystalline structure of which has been broken down, and having the record sound groove scratched or otherwise formed in the metal.

28. A recordtablet comprising a polished,

film covered'metallic base, with.an originalreproducible record therein, the crystalline on the recording surface.

29. The process of forming a phonographic record which consists in breaking 31. The process of forming an original phonographic record which comprises producing movement of aself-supporting ductile metal blank and forming a sound' record groove therein by a stylus pressing at its point againstthe surface of the blank.

.32. The process'of forming an original phonographic record which comprises producing movement ofia self-supporting ductile metal blank and forming a laterally undulating record groove therein by a stylus pressin against the surface of the blan 33. T e process of forming an original phonographic record which comprises producing movement of a self-supporting ductile metal blank and forming a laterally unatory record groove therein by a stylus pressing at its point against the surface of the blank.

In testimony whereof, I havesigned my name. to thisspecification. 1

HENRY I... WADSWCRTH. 

